Mbabane– A Gucuka man accused of assaulting a police officer who was attending to an abandoned vehicle has been granted E2,000 bail by the High Court after spending more than a week in custody.
High Court Judge Magagula admitted 35-year-old Nkosinathi Vilakati to bail on Wednesday following an urgent application. The Director of Public Prosecutions, representing the Crown, consented to the order.
Vilakati, who has been detained at the Zakhele Remand Centre since his arrest on June 21, must pay E2,000 in cash to the Treasury before he can be released.
The court further ordered him to surrender his passport and any other international travel documents to the investigating officer and not to apply for replacements. He must remain in Eswatini throughout the duration of the case.
As part of the bail conditions, Vilakati is required to report to the charge office at Mliba Police Station every Friday between 8am and 4pm, starting on the first Friday after his release. He was also barred from contacting or interfering with State witnesses and directed to provide the investigating officer with his verified residential address.
Vilakati is facing three criminal charges, two of which arise from an incident that allegedly occurred shortly after 1am on June 21 along the Madlangempisi-Mtiyeni MR6 road at Mahhomu.
According to the charge sheet, a traffic officer had been securing a Mazda Demio, registration VSD 810 AL, which had allegedly been abandoned by a suspected drunk driver, when Vilakati intervened.
The prosecution alleges that Vilakati obstructed Constable S. Matsebula from carrying out his duties by pushing him on the forehead, punching him in the face, kicking him in the chest and stomach and tearing his traffic jerkin, actions said to contravene Sections 11(1)(b) and 11(1)(c) of the Road Traffic Act.
He also faces a separate count of common assault after allegedly slapping Bongumenzi Mdziniso twice in the face during an incident at Mliba on April 5 this year.
In his affidavit supporting the bail application, Vilakati denied the allegations and maintained that he would plead not guilty to all three charges.
He told the High Court that he had been asleep in the back seat of the vehicle while a friend was driving and only reacted after someone attempted to pull him out.
“I was rudely awakened by someone who was trying to drag me out of the vehicle. Without thinking too much about it, I went into defence mode in an attempt to defend myself. I fought half-conscious and without realising that the person was a police officer,” he said.
Vilakati argued that his continued detention could cost him his job, saying he is employed and is the sole provider for his elderly parents, who depend entirely on his income.
The urgent application was filed by Nomakhosi Mamba of Mabila Attorneys, who argued that his continued incarceration unjustifiably deprived him of his liberty and would cause irreparable financial hardship if he remained in custody pending trial.
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